Comfort
by KelliP
Summary: She saw the sadness in his eyes after having to drop his daughter off at college, and there was no way she could just let him go home alone after that. So she goes to him, ready to take care of him, and, apparently, have a sympathetic roll between his sheets. Post-ep for 5x03 Secret's Safe with Me.


**Comfort**

* * *

_She saw the sadness in his eyes after having to drop his daughter off at college, and there was no way she could just let him go home alone after that. So she goes to him, ready to take care of him, and, apparently, have a sympathetic roll between his sheets. Post-ep for 5x03._

* * *

He's still sitting at the bottom of the staircase when he hears the soft knock on his door. A long sigh escaping his lips, Castle runs his fingertips across the medal in his hands one last time, the memories of the days past recounting in his mind. Standing slowly, he deposits it back into the box, eyeing it sadly before he pads over to the door.

"Kate," he breathes when he opens the door. She offers him a warm smile.

"Hey," she whispers.

"I thought- I was going to call you in just a bit," he tells her, and she nods.

"I know," she says with a shrug. "But after telling you the story about my dad and I, and the memory of my mother, I just… needed some comfort."

She presses her lips together then, eyeing him carefully as she shifts in the doorway.

He can see it in her eyes. Why she's really here, and it has nothing to do with her family.

She came for him.

God, he loves her. And he wants to tell her. Again. He wants to _show_ her just how much he does, prove it to her- repeatedly- until there's not doubt in her mind, but-

Tonight is not the night.

"Well, I suppose I can do something about that," is all he offers her, and she takes it. Moving back, he holds out his arm in an offer for her to enter. As she brushes passed him, her eyes remain fixed on his as if studying how he's holding up. He doesn't say anything just yet though, instead closing the door with a soft click before spinning around to face her.

"So… comfort?" he raises an eyebrow suggestively.

"Yeah," she laughs breathlessly, the sweet smile still on her face. "Comfort."

And then she's leaning into him, hands clasping onto his arms as she presses a long kiss to his lips. He smiles contently against her lips, one hand tangling in her hair and the other slipping around her waist. On a sigh escaping from her lips, he slides his tongue eagerly into her mouth, his fingers at her back tugging her closer when-

"Oh!"

They pull back suddenly, stepping away from each other as their heads snap toward the source of the sound.

His mother. Of course.

"Martha," Kate exclaims softly, fingers wiping across her lips as if to remove the evidence of _him_. "I- sorry. I didn't see you there."

His mother simply chuckles, probably amused at their red faces and quiet panting and the embarrassment their suffering in this moment. "Didn't mean to interrupt." She waves her hand around in the air, excusing them or herself, Castle doesn't know. "Richard forgot to mention he was having company over."

Castle narrows his eyes at his mother. It's enough she's staying here (forever, apparently)- does she have to interrupt, too?

"Don't you have something you need to be doing?" he asks her pointedly. "Upstairs?"

"Ah. Sure," Martha replies, not at all concerned with making up an actual excuse to leave them alone. Practically gliding over to the stairs, complete unfazed, she nods at them before making her exit, calling out over her shoulder with a little wave of her fingers. "Lovely to see you, Kate."

Kate presses her lips into an embarrassed smile and nods in response. When they hear the sound of his mother's door shutting, Kate spins around to face him, eyes wide and face red.

"That was embarrassing," she cringes.

He snorts. "Worse than walking in on us, naked in my bedroom?"

"At least she didn't catch us then," Kate replies.

Uh-

Right. Of course not.

Guiltily, Castle presses his lips together and averts his gaze. "Uh- wine?" he tries to ask casually, but his voice comes out in more of a squeak. Not good.

When he finally gathers up enough courage to risk a glance at her, Kate is standing with her arms crossed over her chest and a scowl on her face. "Castle, did your mother know I was in the closet?" she asks him slowly, her voice filled with warning.

"Whaaat?" he draws out, his voice too high pitched to be innocent. "That's- no. That's ridiculous. How- I mean, why would you even-"

"Castle," she says sternly, her eyes narrowing fiercely and posture tensing.

Castle gulps. This isn't going to end well.

So he gives in, his shoulders slouching in defeat. "Uh, yeah. She- she may have known you were there."

Kate squeezes her eyes shut, running a hand over her face as if trying to scrub the knowledge from her mind. "Oh- god. That's… humiliating."

"It's not that bad," Castle tries to tell her, placing a hand on her shoulder, but she scoffs.

"Not bad? I was _naked_," she hisses at him.

The memory of Kate Beckett naked in his bedroom is immediately pulled to the front of his mind, and Castle can't stop the smirk that spreads across his face. "Yeah you were," he sniggers to himself.

It earns him a hard pinch. He cries out dramatically, pulling away from her and clutching his arm. With puppy-dog eyes, Castle pouts, trying to earn some sympathy.

Kate rolls his eyes, as if trying to stand her ground, before her features soften. "Come here, you baby," she holds out a hand for him. He stares down at it almost suspiciously for a moment before he clasps his fingers with hers.

The sweet smile appears again on her face then as she leads him toward the couch. "Wine?" she asks as she pushes him down to take a seat.

He nods gratefully. "Yeah. Thanks."

She moves off to his kitchen then, retrieving a bottle of wine and pulling out two glasses with ease. He loves that she's so comfortable here, moving around as if this is her home already, having no problem kicking his feet off his own coffee table as she drops down next to him.

After a long sip of his wine, he relaxes back into the couch, tugging Kate with him and slinking an arm around her shoulders as she leans against his chest. "Thank you for coming tonight," he whispers, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"I'm sorry Alexis is gone, Castle," she responds, her free hand tucking around him.

He tries to shrug it off, but the look in her eyes when she peers up at him is all too knowing. "I wish she was still here," he admits. "It's hard to believe she's in college now. I'll always see her as my little girl."

When he sighs, Kate tilts her head up to press a light kiss to his jawline. Her fingertips trail along in her lips wake as she burrows her head back into his neck. "She'll always need you, Castle. You're her dad. No one can replace that."

"I just… didn't think this day would actually come."

Heart falling in his chest, Castle pulls Kate closer. As she half-slides into his lap at the action, his cheek drops down to rest on the top of her head, and he breathes in the scent of her. Her fingers tighten around him, hugging him as hot puffs of her breath wash over his neck.

"Is there anything I can do?" she asks softly, lips hot against his skin as she talks.

"Would you stay tonight?" he begs her. "Being alone… it's the last thing I want."

Kate nods in understanding before leaning back from his grasp. Castle questions her silently with his eyes as her fingers pry his off her waist, but she doesn't let go. Instead, she stands and tugs him up after her. He smiles as she leads him away from the living room, heading straight for his bedroom.

Sitting him onto the bed, she undresses him slowly. His suit jacket is first, the material easily sliding off his shoulders. Her fingers work on his shirt next, popping the buttons back through the holes until the front hangs open and it too falls off his shoulders. Then her hands reach for his shoes, slipping them off his feet and pushing them aside. His pants are (thankfully) last, and he holds his breath and prays for some control as she flicks open his belt buckle, pops open the button underneath, and slides them down his legs.

Left in his undershirt and boxers, he watches her as she shrugs her own clothes off, still mesmerised by the beauty of her body. She carefully drapes her outfit over the armchair on the side of his room in an attempt not to crease them (she'll need them tomorrow, after all) before turning to him. Castle smiles at the sight of her standing so casually in the middle of room, wearing nothing but her bra and her briefs as she bites her lower lip and studies him.

"Come here, Kate," he calls for her. Just as she did earlier, he holds out a hand, and she takes it without pause. He tugs her back to his bed, pulling her down next to him as his free hand reaches out for the sheets to cover them.

Castle sighs peacefully as Kate drapes herself across his chest. Delicately, her fingers trailing up and down the bare skin on his arm. He shivers, mashing the side of his face into her hair and snaking his arms around her slim waist.

"Are you sure you're all right?" she asks him softly.

He can hear the concern in her voice, and so he hums quietly.

It's all he offers her, because he's not okay. They both know it, but they also know his daughter can't stay at home forever. And he _is_ so unbelieving proud of the way she's grown up into such a remarkable young adult, ready to take on the world with a fierce determination.

Castle holds Kate close to him all the same, thankful she's here. God, he's so thankful she's here, thankful he finally has her after all these years.

They lay in silence for a long time, listening only to the sound of each other's gentle breathing. Content, he presses a kiss into her hair, and his heart warms when he feels her cheeks lift into a smile against his chest.

And then he makes his move.

"Actually…" he starts in a low voice, "You know what might really help me through this?"

His voice is full of suggestion, and so Kate tilts her head up to peer at him suspiciously. "Richard Castle, are you using your daughter to try and get some sympathy sex?"

Castle shrugs sheepishly. "Is it working?"

He presses his lips together then, not knowing whether she's going to hit him or laugh at him.

In the end, she does neither.

"Well, I do owe you, after all," she whispers into his ear, throwing her leg over his hip and bringing her lips down eagerly to meet his.

* * *

_Thoughts? They'll cheer me up when I fail the class I'm supposed to be at right now._


End file.
